Sparse matrix multiplication in associative memory device

Abstract

A method for multiplying a first sparse matrix by a second sparse matrix in an associative memory device includes storing multiplicand information related to each non-zero element of the second sparse matrix in a computation column of the associative memory device; the multiplicand information includes at least a multiplicand value. According to a first linear algebra rule, the method associates multiplier information related to a non-zero element of the first sparse matrix with each of its associated multiplicands, the multiplier information includes at least a multiplier value. The method concurrently stores the multiplier information in the computation columns of each associated multiplicand. The method, concurrently on all computation columns, multiplies a multiplier value by its associated multiplicand value to provide a product in the computation column, and adds together products from computation columns, associated according to a second linear algebra rule, to provide a resultant matrix.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority and benefit from U.S. provisional patent application 62 / 449,036, filed Jan. 22, 2017 which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to associative memory devices generally and to a generally efficient method of multiplying sparse matrices in particular.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Matrix multiplication (matrix product) produces a matrix C from two matrices A and B. If A is an n×m matrix and B is an m×p matrix, their matrix product AB is an n×p matrix, in which the m entries across a row of A are multiplied with the m entries down a column of B and summed to produce an entry of AB i.e. each i, j entry in the product matrix C is given by multiplying the entries Aik (across row i of A) by the entries Bkj (down column j of B), for k=1, 2, . . . , m, and summing the results over k according to equation 1:ABij=Σk=0nAik×Bkj  Equation 1[0004]Computing matrix...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method for multiplying two sparse matrices in an associative memory device. The method involves storing information about each non-zero element of the sparse matrices, including a value and the multiplier that generated it. The method also involves searching for a multiplicand with a matching index and distributing the multiplier to columns of the multiplicands. The method is efficient and can be performed in parallel, resulting in a faster and more efficient process for multiplying sparse matrices.

Problems solved by technology

Computing matrix products is a central operation in many algorithms and is potentially time consuming.

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